AROUND PROVENCE - Top 10 Provence and the Cote D'Azur - page 119

Little Rome: A Morning in Arles
Start the day with a visit to the largest and most striking Roman monument in
Provence, Les Arènes . From the highest tier of seats you have a fine view of the
historic centre and the Rhône. From here, walk across to the Théâtre Antique ,
for another glimpse of Roman Arles, then walk down the rue du Cloître to the
place de la République, where water gushes from bronze masks at the foot of an
obelisk, brought here from Egypt by the Romans.
On the east side of the square, visit the fine Romanesque Eglise St-Trophime ,
with its lovely sculpted pillars crowned by little figures of saints and martyrs.
Follow the rue de l'Hôtel de Ville to Les Thermes de Constantin , the remains of a
palace built for a 4th-century AD Roman emperor. Then spend up to an hour in
the Musée Réattu • Rue du Grand-Prieuré • Open Tue-Sun • Adm Google
Map , with its fine collection of 18th-20th-century art, including works by Picas-
so.
Another great painter, Van Gogh, is associated with place du Forum, cluttered
with cafés - one has been painted to look just as it was in his work Café la Nuit .
Stop in for coffee. End the morning at the MuseonArlaten•RuedelaRépub-
lique • Closed for renovation until 2015 Google Map , where the largest folklore
collection in Provence vividly recalls some of the region's rich and fading tradi-
tions.